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Radiofrequency Cartilage Reshaping
Efficacy, Biophysical Measurements, and Tissue Viability
Michael W. Keefe, MD;
Alexandre Rasouli, MD;
Sergey A. Telenkov, PhD;
Amir M. Karamzadeh, MD;
Thomas E. Milner, PhD;
Roger L. Crumley, MD, MBA;
Brian J. F. Wong, MD, PhD
Arch Facial Plast Surg. 2003;5:46-52.
Objectives To assess the feasibility of reshaping cartilage using radiofrequency (RF) heating, and to examine the effects of this process on tissue biophysical properties (optical and thermal) and cellular viability.
Methods Mechanically deformed porcine septal cartilage was reshaped using 2 RF-generating devices. We performed dynamic measurements of tissue thermal and optical properties while heating cartilage with one of these devices. Cellular viability was assessed immediately and 7 days after treatment.
Results A characteristic change in the diffuse transmittance of light through the cartilage occurred during heating. Change in transmittance has been shown to accompany the onset of stress relaxation in cartilage. Peak radiometric surface temperature during heating was 88.6°C. Specimens retained their user-specified curved shape for the observed period of 14 days. Chondrocyte viability in RF-heated tissue was 19% and 14% of that in untreated control specimens at days 0 and 7 after treatment, respectively.
Conclusions Radiofrequency heating has been shown to effectively reshape cartilage while maintaining cellular viability, illustrating a novel application for a widely used technology.
From the Beckman Laser Institute (Drs Keefe, Rasouli, Telenkov, Karamzadeh, and Wong) and the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Henry Samuel School of Engineering (Dr Wong), University of California–Irvine; the Division of Facial Plastic Surgery, Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, University of California–Irvine Medical Center, Orange (Drs Keefe, Karamzadeh, Crumley, and Wong); the Biomedical Engineering Program, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin (Drs Telenkov and Milner); and the Department of Surgery, Long Beach Veterans Administration Medical Center, Long Beach, Calif (Drs Keefe and Wong). The authors have no commercial or proprietary interest in the devices or equipment mentioned in this article, have no financial interest, and have received no payment as a consultant, reviewer, or evaluator of the same.
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